Background
He was born circa 1540. Painter was long believed to be a native of Kent due to confusion with a contemporary namesake who matriculated at St John's College, Cambridge, in 1554.
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William Painter
Edit ProfileEducation
He was educated at St. John’s College, Cambridge.
Career
In 1557 he was appointed a gunner in the Tower of London and from 1560 until his death he was clerk of the queen's ordnance. Painter's principal work was The Palace of Pleasure (1566 - 1567), a collection of stories translated from Italian, French, and classical authors, especially Bandello, Boccaccio, and Marguerite of Navarre. It was the most popular of Elizabethan collections and was one of the sources of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet and All's Well that Ends Well and of Webster's Duchess of Malfi.
Connections
Painter was married about 1565 to Dorothy Bonham, with whom he had at least five known children - a son and four daughters. By 1587 their son Anthony had joined his father in his government work.
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Born
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Died
1595 (aged 54) -
Resting place
St Olave Hart Street, London, Great Britain -
Nationality
English